


Omnes arreptam

by charvill1981



Category: The X-Files
Genre: post-IWTB, pre XF Revival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 00:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5353751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charvill1981/pseuds/charvill1981
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on Revival spoilers…or is it? Whatever, just remember: Trust No One guys! There’s angst, uncertainty, and Mulder and Scully.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Omnes arreptam

In the end, all it took was a closed door.

 

She arrived home from the hospital after twelve hours of surgeries and patient follow-ups. Since she had left that morning, she had tried to call him twice and texted him three times. He hadn’t answered, and the only text she got back from him was “Ok” after letting him know, as she always did, that she had made it to work safely.

 

All she had wanted was to walk through their door and see him. Be held by him. Know that they still had each other. That everything they had been through –and given up- wasn’t for nothing. Instead, she came home to someone who locked himself away from her nearly all the time now. She couldn’t even bring herself to look toward his office anymore, knowing it would be sealed off, keeping her out.

 

Peeling off her clothes, she turned on the shower to let it heat up and turned around to face her reflection. 49 years old. 49 years old, and what did she have to show for it? Wrinkles, gray hair that she constantly had to dye, a man she had been with for twenty years who didn’t even sleep in bed with her unless he wanted sex, a job she did as penance for the miracle child she gave up twelve years before, and…?

 

She scrubbed herself so hard in the shower her entire body was still red as she exited its cloud of warmth before stepping into the cold of their tiny, shared bathroom. Normally, after a long day, she would get out of the shower and put on one of his old t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants…or nothing if she wanted to get his attention. But, not tonight. 

 

She looked towards the open door of their bedroom and felt a chill that had nothing to do with her standing in the nude. He knew she was home; had heard her slam the front door, set her things down on the coffee table, start the shower. On today, of all days. 

 

Walking over to her side of the closet, she picked out a pair of her favorite, tightest jeans, a brown sleeveless blouse, and suede brown ankle boots. She spent thirty minutes redoing her hair and makeup. Lipstick. She had almost forgotten what she looked like when she wore it. Then, she picked up her phone from where it sat next to the faucet.

 

“Does that drink offer still stand?” she texted Henry, the anesthesiologist she had worked with for the last few years.

 

His reply was immediate. “Absolutely. Poe’s on Main. 11ish?”

 

Her hands shook as she pulled the ring off her finger, stuffing it into the tight denim pocket, before typing, “Yes. I’ll see you then.”

 

Boots echoing loudly on the hardwood floors, she went back and forth between the bedroom and bathroom loading a suitcase with enough things to last her about a week. Walking back into the living room, she froze, suitcase dropping with a thud as she saw the standard white plastic bag from the drug store sitting on top of the kitchen counter.

 

The strength and newfound determination she had fooled herself into feeling all but vanished as she approached the flat bag with numb legs. Her fingers, shaking for a completely different reason now, gently peeled the plastic apart to see the seemingly innocent piece of folded cardstock lying inside. Pulling it out, she smiled in spite of herself at the large, brightly colored font that read “HaPpy BiRThdAY!!!” with a nondescript cake and party balloons around it. She imagined him standing in the aisle, looking over all the choices, trying to make a decision. Tears burned her freshly lined eyes.

 

As she opened it to see the blank space where they would write their annual message to their gone-but-never-forgotten son, she felt his heat behind her. Closing her eyes, she felt but didn’t see the two drops that slipped from her skin to splash upon the stark white cotton fibers.

 

Placing a warm hand on her bare shoulder, he ran his fingers all the way down to her wrist leaving a trail of goosebumps. “Were you going somewhere, Scully?” he asked, his voice husky from being alone most of the day. 

 

She turned to face him and stared into hazel eyes that were examining every inch of her face; from the matte stain of her lips to the tracks that ran down her powdered cheeks. Her phone chimed in her pocket, and Mulder raised his eyebrows at her, the unspoken question clear. 

 

Looking down at the suitcase beside their feet, she shook her head. “No. I just…Mulder, we need to talk.”

**Author's Note:**

> I can also be found on Tumblr @ charvill1981  
> on Twitter @ txcb103
> 
> and you can email me at txcb1013@gmail.com :)


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